Reds Acquire Ryan Lillie From Marlins For International Spending Capacity

The Reds have acquired right-hander Ryan Lillie from the Marlins for international bonus money, per C. Trent Rosecrans of the Athletic (Twitter link). $750K of availability is going to Miami in the swap, per MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez (via Twitter).

Lillie, 22, was a fifth round pick of the Marlins in the 2017 draft. Though he showed plus command (1.12 BB/9 for Low-A Greensboro this season) in his initial low-level taste, Lillie seems little more than organizational depth at this point: at season’s end, he didn’t rank in the top thirty for a mid-pack Marlins system in any major publication. Baseball America (subscription required) does note that he has a chance to be a back-end reliever, lauding his ’above-average’ slider, though the Marlins used him almost exclusively in a starting role.

For the Marlins, the incentive seems clear: stockpile as much international bonus pool money as possible in hopes of luring star free agent Victor Victor Mesa to Miami. The Fish, who began the day with $4.3MM in pool money, have baseball’s second-highest total in that department and figure to be key players for the 22-year-old when the time comes.

Comments

Hopefully the Reds have learned from their youth experiment the last 4 years as Castellini going to actually raise the team payroll to the highest ever since he became owner of the Reds! They said they are going to sign a few veteran starters this off season! The Reds this year had their lost attendance since 1984, because people just don’t want to spend money to watch a losing team!

Interesting pick up. Lillie throws in the mid-90s, features a promising slider and a developing change. Converted from catcher in college, as was Kevin Shackelford, Lillie is a fresh arm who potentially can be a back-end type reliever.

Lillie was poised for a jump next year. He has flashed high velocity, and has been improving. Hasnt been a pitcher for that long. Hope this isnt another prospect just given away, and they at least sign these 3 guys. Marlins have made countless terrible trades over the last several years

Ya. It bothered me when I saw it, and I was just trying to say something positive for once, and focus on the actual international spending, assuming they get these guys, although there are questions I have about all of them.

Ryan Lillie was poised to make the kinds of jumps that Pablo Lopez made last year, not necessarily to the big leagues, and Castillo previously, as well as a couple of other similar breakouts from the Marlins lower minor leagues over the last few years. Just look at Michael King with the Yankees…Lillie was lauded for his makeup coming out of college, and I remember them being really high on him too. If he hadnt been hurt for that stretch this year, he may have reached higher levels, and ended up in the middle of the top 30, as he was trending before the injury. The thought was he wouldnt need long to make the big leagues as a reliever, even as he was learning to pitch, but they liked his makeup enough to try him as a starter, as they thought he could do it, and it would be a good learning experience for him, even if they ended up turning him back into a reliever

Here is a trade I would like to see the Reds’ make: Trade Eugenio Suarez OR Jose Peraza to the Miami Marlins for Luke Snell and Wye Yin Chen,. The Reds’ would also send Billy Hamilton and Dilson Herrera to complete the trade. Suarez and Peraza both live in Miami, and would probably love to play in their home town. If the Marlins prefer Suarez, the Reds would then have a position for Nick Senzel. If the Marlins prefer Peraza, the Reds could move Suarez to his natural position or have an opportunity to try prospect Rodriguez at short. Also, Billy Hamilton has said he would love to play center field in the Marlins park. Dilson Herrera could be the Marlins fourth outfielder and he is coming on strong and needs more playing time. Their move would also free up some room for Tyler Trammell, Aristedes Aquino, and Fairchild. I really like Suarez so I would hope the Marlins would prefer Peraza. I think this would be a great trade for both teams. What do you think?

I like both Suarez and Peraza, but to make a good trade you have to trade power for power. Senzel is learning to play the outfield because they want to find a spot in the lineup for him. If an infield position came open, then Senzel could fit in. Really, the Reds need southpaw starters, as does every team in the NL Central. This would meet that need. You can’t get pitchers like Snell and Chen by offering prospects.

You obviously know little about Suarez or the Reds. He loves it here and is a cornerstone of their rebuilding process. Yes, every team would like to have a good left handed starter, but you don’t trade a 30/100 still improving player under a great contract to get one.